Me the People: The Editorial Cartoons of Pia Guerra

The very first thing that you read on the back of this graphic novel is the smartest statement that can be made about this book, so allow me to share it with you verbatim:

“This collection of New Yorker cartoonist and Y: The Last Man co-creator Pia Guerra’s editorial cartoons covers a wide array of topics and events, from the Trump administration’s unprecedented attacks on Democracy and the GOP’s enabling of chaos to the fight of gun violence and corruption.”

There are no punches being pulled in this tome. Guerra’s art hits as hard as a breaking headline and there are times that the undeniable truth of our current political atmosphere is so perfectly captured that it makes it impossible to turn away. These are the times we live in. This is the President that we have in the oval office. These are not bright and cheerful times for many in our country and Guerra uses her art as a weapon on the frontlines.

It’s damn near impossible to write an unbiased review of material like this. Its mere existence is a testament to the creator and to the reader’s own political leanings… I guess what I’m driving at is that you won’t find this book on any Trump supporter’s bookshelf. Every page is a stunning indictment all on its own. From Russia to the NRA, to Mueller, to the lies, to healthcare, to everything in-between; there is no corner of Trump World that Guerra does not expose and use to maximum effect.

For those of us who are not supporters of the current administration, this reads like a greatest hits of the last two years, and yes! It’s only been two years! It not just a collection of political cartoons, but a stark reminder of just how much B.S. we have had to endure; so much so that it’s easy to forget the details of early days in Trump’s Presidential debacle.

Guerra’s book is almost like a long-forgotten time capsule that shoves the events of the last two years in our face and screams “LOOK AT IT!”

Sean Spicer trying to keep his stories straight in front of the White House Press pool.

Ivanka promoting her brand in the middle of her father’s shitstorm

The outrage of taking a knee during the national anthem while Puerto Rico laid devastated

The influence of Steve Bannon

The lack of basic human dignity for immigrants

Charlottesville

That is just a small snippet of the topics raised in this book. I cannot properly describe the raw power and emotions that each of Guerra’s images draws out of the viewer. I had to stop halfway through my review and compose myself because I could feel my blood pressure beginning to climb as I looked over these images.

This collection will become one of the most significant pieces of political social commentary of our generation. People will be able to look back on these works in one hundred years and understand the attitude and climate in which we lived. This book in effect will be a marker which historians will be able to point to and easily explain not only the current events which inspired these cartoons but also the common perception of the American People in such a tumultuous time.

Much like the political cartoons of past generations which have transcended time, like depictions of King George and the British during the Revolutionary War, or Allied and Axis powers of WWII, or the more contemporary take on Nixon’s Watergate; Guerra has immortalized this moment in American history for all to see and relive.

It is because of this monumental historical significance I give this work the highest score possible.